SCHOOL DISTRICTS SEEK FUNDING ADEQUACY STUDY
BRIMLEY, Mich. — The Bay Mills News reported that more than 110
districts statewide have voted their support for a study of the funding
needs of Michigan schools. Many of the districts hope the study will
show that the current level of state government education funding is
inadequate, according to the News.

The resolution for a study was originally proposed by the Michigan
Association of School Administrators. The study would review the costs
of a variety of items, including staff, benefits, technology,
transportation and curriculum.

"We've been promised a study in the past, and then it hasn't gone
anywhere," Brimley Superintendent Alan Kantola told the News. The most
recent funding adequacy study was performed in 1968.

Financial problems are occurring in many districts. "The cost of
operating a school just keeps going up," Kantola told the News.
"Natural gas is through the roof. Money coming from the state is not
covering our expenses. Salary and fringes are about 70 percent of our
budget."

EDITORIAL: EDUCATORS MUST ADDRESS BOYS' LEARNING CHALLENGES
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A new report from the U.S. Department of Education
indicates that girls have overtaken boys in academic achievement and
that many boys are struggling in school, an editorial in USA Today
observed last week. The editorial concluded that more research is
needed into boys' and girls' learning differences, with teachers
receiving more training in how to address the disparities.

Male students are lagging nationwide, in both wealthy districts and
inner city schools, and the same pattern is being observed in other
industrialized countries. The editorial argued that the trend reflects
societal shifts that have favored girls, including an emphasis on
verbal skills, which, according to the editorial, come more naturally
to girls. The lack of achievement by male students will cause problems
in the future, according to USA Today, because, "If boys can't get to
the good-jobs starting line, which these days is a bachelor's degree,
they won't get a chance to use their natural competitive skills in the
marketplace."

The editorial suggested teacher training reforms, citing a study that
found that 99 percent of teacher colleges do not offer a course on the
differences between the ways boys and girls learn. The problem "surely
won't be fixed until educators first come to see that it exists," USA
Today opined.

NEW LAWS PLACE INTERMEDIATE SCHOOL DISTRICTS UNDER GREATER SCRUTINY
Flint, Mich. — The Flint Journal reported that Gov. Jennifer Granholm
last week signed into law a package of bills placing intermediate
school districts under greater financial scrutiny in the wake of
several alleged intermediate district financial scandals.

State Rep. Ruth Johnson, a sponsor of some of the legislation, said the
new laws will make ISDs more accountable in their use of taxpayer
money. Johnson also headed a panel that investigated an alleged
financial scandal in the Oakland County ISD. The new laws are "a huge
victory for kids and taxpayers," Johnson told the Journal.

The Journal's 2003 investigation into the Genesee ISD found that ISD
board officials and ISD Superintendent Thomas Svitkovitch together
spent $263,000 in five years on travel-related expenses, including
purchases of alcohol and in-room movies, some of which were later
repaid by district officials. Svitkovitch said the district's board has
apologized for the expenditures, and he told the Journal that he thinks
the new laws will cost taxpayers more money. "This is going to assure
more money is spent on auditors, accountants and webmasters and not
necessarily more money on students and programs," he said.

Among other stipulations, the new laws require districts to report on
their Web sites such items as contracts of over $100,000, individual
travel expenses of more than $3,000, and general budget information,
including salaries and benefits for employees in the top 3 percent of
the district's payroll.

Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Less Government, Not More, Is Key
to Academic Achievement and Accountability," Oct. 3, 2001
http://www.mackinac.org/3786

STATE OFFICIALS HOPE TO RELIEVE $113 MILLION EDUCATION SHORTFALL
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — State government economists reported last Friday
that they anticipate a $113 million shortfall in the state's school aid
fund for this fiscal year, according to the Ann Arbor News. State tax
receipts have fallen below budget forecasts made last spring, and the
state's overall budget deficit is projected at $370 million.

The announcement was made at a state budget conference that typically
would be held in January, but was moved up to December because of the
expected shortfall. According to the News, Gov. Jennifer Granholm and
state lawmakers say they will be able to avoid cuts in the minimum per-pupil foundation grants provided to schools (currently $6,700). Local
school officials, the News reported, were relieved that the revenue
deficit might not lead to school funding reductions.

But Milan Schools Superintendent Dennis McComb told the News that the
money may come from next year's school monies, consuming any increased
tax receipts next year. McComb added, "There is a structural problem in
(state funding) that needs to be addressed in some fashion."

STATE OFFICIALS MAKE NO COMMITMENTS IN DETROIT FINANCIAL CRISIS
DETROIT — The Detroit Free Press reported that a meeting last week
between Detroit Public Schools CEO Kenneth Burnley, state legislators
and Lt. Gov. John Cherry ended by postponing a decision, pending the
district's submission of a financial audit to the state, on whether to
recommend state assistance to Detroit. An earlier proposal by State
Senate Majority Leader Ken Sikkema to impose a state emergency
financial director in the district has apparently been set aside.

The Free Press reported that a high-level state official said Granholm
administration officials were "very disappointed" in Burnley for not
acting faster to address the district's financial crisis, which has
snowballed into a $200 million deficit. Burnley has outlined a plan to
sell bonds to cover the deficit, but this would require legislative
approval, and Ari Adler, spokesman for State Senate Majority Leader Ken
Sikkema, said that the plan would not be acceptable.

"I think we've made it pretty clear that Dr. Burnley's Plan A is not
going to fly," Adler told the Free Press, referring to the deficit
bonds. "It's time to start working on Plan B." But Burnley argued that
the bond option might still pass muster with the Legislature, telling
the Free Press, "It's not a done deal." He also said that the district
would likely request a 90-day extension in filing its deficit-reduction
plan.

About 150 people attended a Detroit school board meeting that followed
the Lansing meeting last Monday, and several residents expressed their
disapproval of the district's response to the crisis. "Dr. Burnley
needs to get out of Dodge — he needs to get out of Detroit," said
Detroiter Marie Thornton.

COURT RULES IN FAVOR OF COLLEGES IN MILITARY FUNDING ISSUE
DETROIT — In a 2-1 ruling last Monday, according to a Detroit Free
Press report, a three-judge panel of the U.S. 3rd Circuit Court of
Appeals struck down a law allowing the Defense Department to withhold
funding from colleges and universities that bar on-campus military
recruitment because of the military's ban on homosexuals.

The panel held that the decade-old federal law infringed on the
schools' free-speech rights. The ruling was the result of a lawsuit
filed by a coalition of law schools. The Justice Department said it is
reviewing whether it will appeal the decision.

MICHIGAN EDUCATION DIGEST is a service of Michigan Education
Report (http://www.educationreport.org),
a quarterly newspaper with a circulation of 130,000 published by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy (http://www.mackinac.org),
a private, nonprofit, nonpartisan research and educational institute.